Fun.
New York based three-piece fun. released their debut album Aim & Ignite through Hassle Records on June 7th 2011. The album was preceded by the single All the Pretty Girls on May 31st.
fun. is what happens when three extraordinarily talented musicians come together to create something altogether new and wonderful. Nate Ruess, late of The Format, has teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff (Steel Train), resulting in their ingenious debut, Aim & Ignite. The trio melds an array of diverse inspirations – spanning Broadway to The Beach Boys, “Nilsson Schmilsson’ to “Pinkerton” – into an irresistible collection of freewheeling pop songcraft.
With Aim & Ignite, fun. have crafted a contemporary rethinking of classic 70s pop, where ornate arrangements and inspired orchestrations meet present-day rock ‘n’ roll. Take for example, At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be), which suggests the heretofore unimagined sound of a Caribbean Queen, with Ruess belting extravagantly over a backdrop of festive horns and steel drums. Barlights – arranged by longtime Ruess fave Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Jellyfish, Imperial Drag, Moog Cookbook) – is brash and brassy blue-eyed soul, while Dost’s Light A Roman Candle With Me is rollicking and Randy Newman-esque.
Songs like the album-opening Be Calm meld finely wrought chamber-pop orchestrations – all brass and strings and multi-tracked harmonies – with guitar-fueled rock ‘n’ roll, and tracks like Benson Hedges and single All The Pretty Girls are fit to burst with richly prolix lyricism and intricate melodic twists and turns, which provide plenty of room for Ruess’ distinctive vocals to soar.
Full tracklisting:
1. Be Calm / 2. Benson Hedges / 3. All the Pretty Girls / 4. I Wanna Be The One / 5. At least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be) / 6. Light A Roman Candle With Me / 7. Walking the Dog / 8. Barlights / 9. The Gambler / 10. Take Your Time (Coming Home)
BONUS CONTENT – The UK album will have following audio as bonus tracks in addition to 10 track album:
11. Intro (Live @ Fingerprints) / 12. Walking The Dog (Live @ Fingerprints) / 13. All The Pretty Girls (Live @ Fingerprints) / 14. Interlude (Live @ Fingerprints) / 15. The Gambler (Live @ Fingerprints) / 16. At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be) (Live @ Fingerprints) / 17. Take Your Time (Live @ Fingerprints)
Catalogue Number: HOFF100CD.
Following the band’s week of sold out debut London shows in March, fun. are set to return to our shores to spread
their Ben Folds, Shins and Polyphonic Spree reminiscent, uplifting musical vibes across the UK in May:
Date City Venue Ticket price/number
May
Fri 21 Liverpool Shipping Forecast / Sound City £6 / www.ticketweb.co.uk
Sat 22 Glasgow Stag and Dagger £16.50 / www.pclpresents.com
Sun 23 Leeds Cockpit 2 £7 / www.lunatickets.co.uk
Mon 24 Brighton Prince Albert £6 / www.seetickets/co,
Tue 25 London Kings College £8 / www.gigsandtours.com & 0871 2200 260
Wed 26 London Islington Academy >> moved from Kings College
Thu 27 Kingston New Slang £5 / www.banquetrecords.com/shows
Sat 29 Bristol venue tbc / Dot to Dot £25
Sun 30 Nottingham venue tbc / Dot to Dot £25
Mon 31 Manchester venue tbc / Dot to Dot £25
Tickets for Dot To Dot festival are available from: gigantic.com/alttickets/home_dot_to_dot_festival_2010_.html
official Fun. website